After The Absolution
by HunterJumper15
Summary: The new, revised verison of After the Absolution. The story of how Rose was 9 years after Titanic, now that she has a daughter. Will Jaclyn help Rose find Jack again?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's chapter 2 to the story! It's a bit longer now :D**

Ten years have passed and Rose is now a mother. Her daughter, Jaclyn is nine and a half and Rose has never spoken of Jack or Titanic to her, but has thought of Jack everyday since April fifteenth. Rose did not feel ready to tell Jaclyn that she didn't have a father, but Jaclyn was getting impatient and kept asking Rose.

Later that night at dinner, the same subjects emerged as they did every night during the school year. "What did you do at school today?"

Jaclyn shrugged. "Same old stuff, you know, went to class and got homework, went to lunch and went back to get more homework."

"Do you need any help with it?"

"Actually, yes I do, mom." Rose was a little surprised. " I want to know about our family. Besides just me and you and Salem."

Rose felt her stomach tie up in knots. "What?"

"Mom, we are doing a family heritage project in school and it includes extended family too not just your parents."

"Ok, well, I don't know who your father is based on you characteristics, mostly because a lot happened to me when I was about eight years older than you--especially on _Titanic_." Rose wished she could take that last word back for a split second, but then decided it was OK.

"Titanic? Oh gosh you're a survivor??" Jaclyn's eye grew wide.

Rose nodded slowly. "Before that, I was engaged to Cal Hockley."

"Mom, stop exadurating the truth." Jaclyn was now in slight disbelief.

"I'm not exadurating; he made me go on _Titanic_ and…well that's not important right now."

"No, please tell me!!" Jaclyn pleaded. "Pleeseee???"

"Jaclyn I am not ready to have this conversation with you, wherever it may lead."

Jaclyn sighed and got up. "May I be excused?"

Rose nodded as Jaclyn got up and walked to her room, humming to herself as she went along.

_Jack is dead, no I cannot tell her that!! She would be heartbroken but I have to do it. What do I… _Rose was taken away from her train of thought when Jaclyn came in the room. "Jaclyn what's wrong??"

"I can't sleep." She replied in a sleepy voice.

"Oh, why don't you think of jumping with Sampson? That worked last time."

Jaclyn sighed. "Not this time, I've been thinking a lot of these people that I've seen at the barn lately though."

Rose became suddenly suspicious, not knowing why. "Who are they?"

"They are related to Celina, her father, Cal and her godmother, Ruth."

"What is Celina's last name again?" Rose got slightly nervous.

"Hockley, why?"

Rose did not answer, not knowing what to answer. _What are they doing at a stable?? Cal should be in Philadelphia and SHE should be somewhere other than a stable…She never let me around horses when I was a child….Why would she want to be around them now??_

"MOTHER!" Jaclyn nearly screamed.

"Sorry Jackie, what do they do there?"

"Watch me and Celina at lessons, you know like Jumping, Dressage, stuff like that. Sometimes Ruth compliments me on how well Sampson looks, she is really nice."

_It doesn't surprise me; Sampson is a beautiful horse…._

"Mother, you zoned out on me again." Jaclyn sighed.

"Oh. Sorry. I think I know who Ruth is though."

"Really?" Jaclyn asked curiously.

"Jaclyn, Ruth is my mother."


	2. Chapter 3

The following afternoon, Jaclyn was outside exercising Sampson around the jumping ring when she noticed a man with shaggy blond hair and a leather sketchbook. He looked up at her every couple of seconds and then continued to draw something in his sketchpad. After she was done, she saw he was leaving.

"Hey, wait up, Jack!" Jaclyn called to him as he turned around. "I saw you were drawing something again, can I see it?"

"Sure." He opened up to where he drew a girl that looked like Jaclyn jumping a horse that looked like Sampson over a large double oxer jump.

"Wow, I didn't know I could jump that high!" Jaclyn smiled, noting her progress.

"You are quite a good rider and probably could."

"Thanks!" Jaclyn smiled cutely.

"Emmy is thinking of getting Jessica a new horse."

"Oh really?" Jaclyn petted Sampson as they walked down the aisle toward his stall.

"Yeah, she told me last night, maybe a former international champion." Jack knew who he was talking to, but Jaclyn had no idea.

"Really? Sampson is pretty famous you know. He was a Show Jumping champion before he was mine." Jaclyn backed Sampson into his stall and put his leather halter on. It got quiet suddenly. "Your so lucky to have known both your parents. I only know my mother and she won't tell me who my father is. She says I really look like him though." Jaclyn said,breaking the ice.

Jaclyn continued to groom Sampson as he ate his lunch. He seemed to be listening also. When she was finished she shut his stall door and asked if she could look at the sketchbook again. While she was going though it, she noticed lots of sketches of a woman. "You know, this woman looks a lot like my mother." Jaclyn noted.

"Really, she was a girlfriend that I had a long time ago."

Jaclyn started to piece things together a little. "Did you travel on _Titanic_ by any random chance?"

"Yeah, why?" Jack scratched his head.

Jaclyn kept her silence, figuring that Jack would figure it out on his own why she as asking.

----------------------

Jaclyn looked down at the taxis and people hustle down the streets of New York. It was evening now and Jaclyn was waiting for her mother to come home from work at the theater. Her babysitter, Maddi, worked on some homework that she had on the couch and occasionally looked up at the clock.

"Hey Maddi, If I told you something would you keep you silence about it?"Jaclyn asked, already knowing she could trust Maddi with her life.

"Sure." Maddi replied without looking up from what she was writing. "What is it?"

"I met my father today." Jaclyn said quickly.

"And I became a millionaire today." Maddi replied as she finished up writing a sentence and flipped the paper over.

"I'm serious Maddi, Jack is my father!"Jaclyn exclaimed.

"Jaclyn, just because you look like him and he was on_ Titanic_ does not make him your father. A lot of people survived just as a lot died, you know that. Rose just happened to be lucky, or you probably would not be here today."

"Maddi come on. I look like him and everyone knows it!! How can he not be?" Jaclyn sat down on the couch next to her.

Maddi closed up her notebooks and put her books away in her book bag. "A lot of reasons. I'll see you tomorrow Jac."

Jaclyn laid down on the couch and counted the ceiling tiles as she fell asleep. She was awoken by the sound of the door opening and closing and a key dropping on the table. Her mother was home.

Quickly, Jaclyn got up and went to the kitchen. "Hey mom, remember you were telling me how you met my father on _Titanic_ when I was a little girl? Well I think I met him today."

"That's not possible. Your father is dead Jaclyn, how could you have met him??"

Jaclyn boosted herself onto the counter. "Well at the stable today I met a man named Jack Dawson and he looks a little like me and he is an artist! He was drawing me and Sampson jumping today and when I was looking at his sketchbook, there was a drawing in there that looked like you! She had a really beautiful dress on and when I asked where this came from, he said the _Titanic_."

Reality hit Rose that Jack had never died and that he was where she could find him!

"Does he work at the barn?"Rose asked.

"Yes and he lives there with Emmy."

"Are they married?" Rose became a bit worried.

"No, not that I know of anyway. Do you want to meet him??"Jaclyn smiled.

Rose got nervous at the thought of seeing Jack again in nine years. She defiantly was not seventeen anymore and looked different than she did ten years ago. Then she began to wonder if he would still even love her anymore.


	3. Chapter 4

**A/N: Titanic was on for three nights in a row where I live, so I got reeeaaaalllly inspired! It was awesome since Titanic is never on TV and three nights in a row is once in a blue moon!**

Rose watched Jaclyn carefully navigate Sampson around a jumping course of many different leveled jumps. Every few minutes she would look around and see if Jack was coming.

"She's really good isn't she?" Someone said as they came up behind her, Rose recognized his voice and her heart began to beat a little faster.

"Yes, she's my daughter, Jaclyn." Rose turned to face Jack since she had not seen him in eleven years and was surprised he had not changed, knowing she had.

"I know that, Rose." Jack smiled and took her in his arms.

"I thought you died." Rose was nearly in tears.

"Same here, I thought you had died and then I met Jaclyn." He held her tighter.

"Jaclyn is your daughter, Jack." Rose wispered softly.

"Awwwww, look Jackie!!" Celina pointed out to her best friend.

"Jack is my dad, Celina. They met on Titanic."

"Really? Wow, my dad was a Titanic survivor too he just never mentioned it."

"Then how do you know?"

"I used to go through my dad's stuff when he was away on business trips and I found an article one day that mentioned Titanic that was being used to fill a mouse hole. Let's go jump now!"

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Even though Jaclyn was feeling full of herself that night, she kept quiet.

"Jaclyn I don't know why you didn't tell me sooner!" Rose finally said, breaking the silence. Jaclyn tried not to say anything sarcastic; instead she had other topics she wanted to discuss. "Mom, how do you know Celina's father?"

"Jaclyn---" Rose began in the _'I-don't-wanna-talk-about-that-'_ tone.

"Mom, come on, just tell me. It's not like I'm going to tell." Jaclyn said with the puppy-dog eyes look. "Celina told me he was on Titanic too and I know that Jack is my father…."

"Jaclyn, I don't know if Jack is your definite father." Rose finally spilled out, not really thinking about it.

"What are you talking about? He can draw and so can I, and I have blue eyes and—"

"And dark brown hair and a fiery temper." Rose cut her off.

"I get that from you." Jaclyn objected. "You know Jack is my father. Where else would I have got blue eyes from?"

Rose swallowed and picked up the script she was reading, trying to concentrate on that. Jaclyn refused to give up. "Come on, spill, you know you want to…"

"Cal was my fiancée for three months and I absolutely hated him." Rose had a flashback of the night the ship sank when Cal hit her and called her a slut. Out of all the memories she had on Titanic, this one stuck out the most.

"You didn't like money? You do now!" Jaclyn exclaimed

"We didn't have any after your grandfather died. He left us with nothing but bad debts and marrying Cal was my only way out."

"When does Jack come in?" Jaclyn wondered aload.

"I…well…tried to jump off the back of the ship one night, who knew I would end up back there a few nights later."

Jaclyn giggled cutely. "Jack told me one time that he once knew this girl on _Titanic_ and he almost died because of her, but he loved her a lot."

Rose smiled, Jack never told her that he loved her but she knew it. "I'll try to come with you to the barn more often than I do now, alright with you?"

"Yes, that's fantastic!" Jaclyn was excited that her mother finally had some liking for the sport of Show Jumping. She didn't know why she didn't already but Rose definitely did not like Polo.

-----------------------------------

"Come on Sammy, jump!!" Jaclyn whined at Sampson the next day, knowing that the dreary weather was getting to her. Soon she saw Celina and felt a little better.

"Aren't you riding today?"

"Oh, well, I can't really jump a lame horse…" Celina was noticeably lying.

"Celina, has anyone ever mentioned to you that you are a bad liar?"

She shrugged, climbing through the gaps in the fence so she was inside the arena. "Only Jack and Emmy know that I am here, I ran away last night."

"Really???" Jaclyn was shocked and so was Sampson. "Why??"

Celina buried her face in Sampson's warm, fuzzy neck. "My father killed my mother!!"


	4. Chapter 5

**A/N: Titanic was on for three nights in a row where I live, so I got reeeaaaalllly inspired! It was awesome since Titanic is never on TV and three nights in a row is once in a blue moon!**

Rose watched Jaclyn carefully navigate Sampson around a jumping course of many different leveled jumps. Every few minutes she would look around and see if Jack was coming.

"She's really good isn't she?" Someone said as they came up behind her, Rose recognized his voice and her heart began to beat a little faster.

"Yes, she's my daughter, Jaclyn." Rose turned to face Jack since she had not seen him in ten years and was surprised he had not changed, knowing she had.

"I know that, Rose." Jack smiled and took her in his arms.

"I thought you died." Rose was nearly in tears.

"Same here, I thought you had died and then I met Jaclyn." He held her tighter.

"Jaclyn is your daughter, Jack." Rose wispered softly.

Celina flew over a small x-rail jump and cantered around the ring before noticing Jack and Rose together. "Awwwwwww,Jackie look!!" Celina walked Zillion up to Sampson's side.

"Jack is my dad, Celina. They met on _Titanic_." Jaclyn petted Sampson's rough mane.

"Really? Wow, my dad was a _Titanic_ survivor too he just never mentioned it." Celina stated as she hugged Zillion's neck, smiling to herself.

"Then how do you know?"

"I used to go through my dad's stuff when he was away on business trips and I found an article one day that mentioned _Titanic_ that was being used to fill a mouse hole." Celina sat back up quickly. "Let's go jump now!"

---------------------------------

Even though Jaclyn was feeling full of herself that night, she kept quiet.

"Jaclyn I don't know why you didn't tell me sooner!" Rose finally said, breaking the silence. Jaclyn tried not to say anything sarcastic; instead she had other topics she wanted to discuss. "Mom, how do you know Celina's father?"

"Jaclyn---" Rose began in the _'I-don't-wanna-talk-about-that-'_ tone.

"Mom, come on, just tell me. It's not like I'm going to tell." Jaclyn said with the puppy-dog eyes look. "Celina told me he was on _Titanic_ too and I know that Jack is my father…."

"Jaclyn, I don't know if Jack is your definite father." Rose finally spilled out, not really thinking about it.

"What are you talking about? He can draw and so can I, and..."

"And dark brown hair and a fiery temper." Rose cut her off.

"I get that from you." Jaclyn objected. "You know Jack is my father. Where else would I have got blue eyes from?"

Rose swallowed and picked up the script she was reading, trying to concentrate on that. Jaclyn refused to give up. "Come on, spill, you know you want to…" Jaclyn sat down next to her attentively.

"Cal was my fiancée for three months and I absolutely hated him." Rose had a flashback of the night the ship sank when Cal hit her and called her a slut. Out of all the memories she had on _Titanic_, this one stuck out the most.

"You didn't like money? You do now!" Jaclyn exclaimed.

"We didn't have any after your grandfather died. He left us with nothing but bad debts and marrying Cal was my only way out."

"When does Jack come in?" Jaclyn wondered aloud.

"I…well…tried to jump off the back of the ship one night, who knew I would end up back there a few nights later."

Jaclyn giggled cutely. "Jack told me one time that he once knew this girl on _Titanic_ and he almost died because of her, but he loved her a lot."

Rose smiled, Jack never told her that he loved her but she knew it. "I'll try to come with you to the barn more often than I do now, alright with you?"

"Yes, that's fantastic!" Jaclyn was excited that her mother finally had some liking for the sport of Show Jumping. She didn't know why she didn't already but Rose definitely did not like Polo.

----------------------------------------

"Come on Sammy, jump!!" Jaclyn whined at Sampson the next day, knowing that the dreary weather was getting to her. Soon she saw Celina and felt a little better.

"Aren't you riding today?" She called to her as Sampson trotted over to the fence.

"Oh, well, I can't really jump a lame horse…" Celina was noticeably lying.

"Celina, has anyone ever mentioned to you that you are a bad liar?"

She shrugged, climbing through the gaps in the fence so she was inside the arena. "Only Jack and Emmy know that I am here, I ran away last night."

"Really???" Jaclyn was shocked and so was Sampson. "Why??"

Celina buried her face in Sampson's warm, fuzzy neck. "My father killed my mother!!"


	5. Chapter 6

Jaclyn was on high alert for the rest of the day, but swore she would not tell anyone what had happened. Jack came by when Jaclyn was grooming a school horse named Lilly. Lilly was a beautiful seven year old blue roan mare and was the best jumper in the barn. She was also one of the tallest at 16.8 Hands High and was usually reserved for the older, advanced students.

"Hi Lilly." Jack said softly as he petted Lilly's soft muzzle. When Jaclyn saw a pair of legs in front of Lilly, she went to see who it was.

"Oh hi Jack!" Jaclyn said quickly, continuing to brush off the dirt and dust off of Lilly's neck.

"Wow, Emmy set you up to groom Lilly?" Jack joked at the size of Jaclyn compared to Lilly. Lilly playfully tried to bite Jack's shirt.

"Yea." Jaclyn said quicker than she meant. _I have to tell someone, I'm going to explode!!_

Jack began to walk away when Jaclyn went to put Lilly back in her stall. "Jack, can you help me with her? I'm a little nervous about putting her back."

Jack turned around. "Did you take her out?"

Jaclyn shook her head. "Emmy did for me."

"Lilly likes having people in her stall, you'll be alright." Jack began to walk away again.

"Can you come anyway?" Jaclyn begged.

Jack finally gave in. "Alright."

"I have to tell you something." Jaclyn said without thinking.

Jack looked at her suspiciously. _Does she know?_

"Something happened last night and I'm not supposed to tell, but I am going to explode if I don't!!" Jaclyn said quite quickly.

"What happened? Is your mother alright??" Jack got nervous. He couldn't picture the thought of Rose being hurt anymore.

"Yes, everything is fine at my house. It's Celina, she ran away." Jaclyn said as she put Lilly back in her stall.

_Finally, she had some sense knocked into her. I would run away too if I were in her situation…._"Why did she run away?"

"Um, is there someplace private that we can talk? It's really private." Jaclyn closed the stall door.

"Do you want to talk to Emmy also? Maybe she can do something." Jack suggested.

"No, you cannot tell anybody or Celina will never talk to me again!"

"Alright, why did she run away?" _I think we all know the answer to that one…_

Jaclyn explained the whole story to him just as Celina had told her earlier that day as they walked to the indoor arena. Celina was having her private lesson that her father paid ever so much for. Celina and Jaclyn were two of the best jumpers in the whole barn and were always away, competing in New York City or Connecticut. Sometimes they even got invited to the Hampton Classic when it was held. Emmy came over to the fence after telling Celina to cool down another schooling horse named Zillion. Zillion was a beautiful Chestnut Quarter Horse Gelding who was another one of the taller horses. He was often referred to as the 'big teddy bear' of the barn because of how tall he was and the fact that he was such a sweetheart both inside and outside of the show ring.

"Celina is not herself today, I'm going to call her mother and tell her." Emmy noted to herself.

"Her mother is dead." Jack said in a low voice as Jaclyn walked over to see Zillion and Celina.

"Can you hand me that curry comb?" Celina asked as she placed her saddle and saddle pad on the rail. Jaclyn handed her the small pink rubber curry comb and she started to groom Zillion.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jaclyn handed her a blue body brush.

"Oh, thanks Jackie. Look, I know that Jack and Emmy know but I really don't want to go home. Do you think I could stay with you for a while until I get confidence to go home?"

"Sure!" Jaclyn said happily. "I'm gonna go ask though just to be safe, alright?"

Celina nodded and continued to groom Zillion while Jaclyn went to ask. She came back as quickly as she was left. "Ok, now you have to tell me what really happened last night."


	6. Chapter 7

Celina and Jaclyn went home after a few more hours at the barn. "Cel, don't you think that your dad would be wondering where you are?"

"He probably doesn't care or thinks that I am still locked in my room. Thats what he did right before he knocked my mother down the stairs 'accidentally'" Celina recalled, knowing that Jaclyn did not get it since she had never seen that before. "Your so lucky you only live with your mother, let alone only know her and none of your extended family."

"Celina, I want to know who my father is. That's all, but my mother is even unsure." Jaclyn said as she put her hair in a ponytail.

"Really, who do you think your dad is?"

"Jack. Come on Celina, I look like him, I can draw like him and we both love horses."

Celina brushed her long, straight,dark hair. "We both have dark hair and love horses too."

Jaclyn sighed. "Yeah but, I don't know. It's an emotional thing and my mother knows him because they were both on _Titanic_...If that's not a small world I don't know what is then." She paused, looking out the window. "Do you think I should ask him?"

Celina looked at her with wide eyes. "Jaclyn, probably the only reason you have an emotional connection is because he's been at the barn as long as us, since we were little girls. But maybe your right, it might just be a small world."

"And why else would she want to come to the barn now, other than an excuse to see Jack? You can't forget that." Jaclyn said logically.

There was a knock at the door and Jaclyn knew it was time to get ready for bed. "Jaclyn, Celina lights out in five."

"Ok, mom." Jaclyn answered, wondering if she should ask about Jack. Celina was mouthing her to go ask now, but she couldn't find herself to get up and ask. "I'll ask tomorrow."

--------------------------------

Jaclyn tossed and turned, listening to the sounds of the city. Occasionally she got up and went to the window, watching the lightning and the rain, wondering how it was possible that water and electricity could mix this way in a natural form. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and looked outside her room to see if her mother was still downstairs. She saw a light creep under the door crack and figured she was still up. Quietly she went down the banister, skipping any squeaky steps and went into the room where the light was coming from, opening the door to find her mother concentrating on a script again.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Jaclyn sat on the arm of the couch.

"Sure, sit on the couch though." Rose hated it when Jaclyn sat on the arms of the couch.

"When I told you about Jack, you said you knew him from _Titanic_. Is he my father?"

Rose sighed. "Jackie, I'm really unsure. You have the personality of him and.." She stopped.

"And who?" Jaclyn continued. "Of who?"

"Of Cal, Celina's father." Rose finished.

"Are you saying that me and Celina could be related? He killed her mother last night."

"Jaclyn!" Rose scolded, forbidding her from gossiping about other people's business. "What did I tell you about gossiping?"

"It's true! Why else would Celina be here?? She ran away last night and she can tell you that herself."

"Jaclyn..." Rose began. "It's late and you have church in the morning. Go back to bed." She dismissed.

Jaclyn got up and kissed her mother good night before going back upstairs and being followed by her cat, Salem. She tossed and turned a few more times before going to sleep finally.

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Jaclyn woke up the next morning, but she was not in her own bed. In fact, she was not too sure where she was but it looked as if the decor could have been slightly updated. Wherever she was,her mother was there too, in a much younger form. "Mom? Is that you?" She asked cautiously.

"Jaclyn, finally your up. Get dressed quickly!" Rose seemed to be panicking. "We only have an our to get off the ship!"

"Get off the ship? You swore you would never get on another boat as long as you lived! Now what is going on?"

"I won't ever get on another boat after this." Rose took out all of Jaclyn's winter outer clothes and quickly helped her dress.

"Mom, please tell me what is going on!" As soon as she said that, Jack appeared except he looked to be dressed in really baggy clothing and had what looked like handcuffs on his hands. He was followed by Celina's father who grabbed Rose and told her to come along. "Your mother is already in a boat and they are almost gone."

"Cal, I told you that I won't leave with you, nor with out Jack." Rose argued, trying to pull away from Cal's forceful grip.

"Mom!" Jaclyn cried, fearing she forgot all about her but it seemed that she had not even heard her. The ship made a noise and they all quickly exited the room, completely forgetting Jaclyn. When she went to catch up to them, she couldn't find them and was met by a wall of water that seemed to be going door-to-door, pulling the doors off their hinges. She tried to run, but the water caught up to her and she woke up before anything else went wrong. The sun was about to rise since the sky was getting lighter now. She got up and decided to get ready for church services. From there she would be coming back home and changing into her riding clothes for competition tonight. It was her first show of the season tonight.


	7. Chapter 8

Celina was on a roll Sunday night. It seemed that every jumping class she went into she was winning or placing, even the harder, more advanced classes. After the show was over, Jaclyn put Sampson away and Celina put her catch ride, _Casino Royale_, away also. On her way out of the barn she saw what looked like her father from the back and when Emmy pointed and said something, the man turned around and it was him. He began to walk towards her and Celina felt herself backing up cowardly.

"Celina Rose Hockley, come here." Cal said as he came closer. Suddenly, Celina stopped backing up. "Celina, where were you? Never mind, we'll discuss this at home." Cal grabbed her arm tightly.

"I'm not going back with you." Celina said suddenly, not really thinking about it.

"Yes you are, your mother is worried." Cal didn't even face her.

"She's dead, I know she is why else would I have ran away?" She yelled loudly.

"I don't even know how you got away. I have to talk to you."

Jaclyn paced around her room before flopping on her bed, looking at the pink ribbon she had won. It had a gold jumping horse on the top and the words,5th place running down the center and on each sides were the name of the barn. She had no idea what happened to Celina but knew it could not have been good. _She has to come back, her stuff is here..._

Jaclyn staired at the celing, wondering what to do. She had the most crazy life out of all her friends currently, hardly ever having time to hang out with them anymore. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and decided to find out who her real father was.

Jaclyn went downstairs as Salem followed and walked into the den, not knowing what really to expect except for all her questions to be answered.

"Mom." Jaclyn stated. "Who is my dad?"


	8. Chapter 9

"Jaclyn, how many times are we going to go over this?" Rose said, knowing that her daughter sounded like a broken record.

"I only want to know, is that so bad?"

"Yes." Rose answered without thinking while Jaclyn furrowed her eyebrows in a confused manner.

"Ok, why is it such a crime for a girl to know who her father is? Everyone has one you know." She stated.

"Alright, if I tell you will you go to bed?" Rose yawned.

Jaclyn nodded excitedly. "Please tell me!!"

"Your father is Jack. Why else would I have named you Jaclyn?"

"So...why didn't you just say that?" Jaclyn felt confused and scared now. "Jack at the barn?"

"Yes." Rose answered.

Jaclyn was so confused she shook her head to try and shake off the confusion. She got up and patted her leg for Salem to follow her back to her room. She was in for a restless night of tossing and turning.

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At around three AM, she decided to write a letter to Jack explaining everything and see what he knew about it.

_**Jack,**_

_**I know that we've known each other from the barn and you've always taken fantastic care of Sampson and preparing me for shows and such. But something strange has been going on lately, you told me you noticed a slight change in my attitude and I think you are right. You said you know my mother also and I've seen you two together and now, well lets just cut to the chase.**_

_**Are you my dad?**_

_**-Jaclyn**_

The next morning Jaclyn got up around seven thirty and got ready to go to the barn, hoping to see Celina and give Jack the letter. Once she got to the barn, she went to look for Emmy.

"Hi Emmy!" Jaclyn said happily as she saw her grooming a jet black yearling with a white star on his forehead. She grabbed a brush and began to help also.

"Hey Jac, what's up? Your normally never here the day after a show."

"I need to talk to you."Jaclyn said in a very mature manner. It was nothing new to Emmy, ever since Jaclyn was little she always wanted to act older. "It's...well...I need you to give Jack something for me 'cause I'm too scared to."

Emmy looked at the envelope. "Sure Jaclyn. Is there something you wanna tell me?"

"Um, no." She answered quickly. Emmy nodded and agreed suspiciously. Suddenly Jaclyn heard the sound of paddock boots against the concrete floor and looked to see Celina coming,looking more than a little annoyed.

"Hey, what happened?" Jaclyn asked.

Celina nodded her head and faced the floor, not making eye contact to anyone and rubbing her eye.

"Celina?" Emmy asked. Celina looked up and there was a huge red mark on her face as if she had been lashed. "Oh my darling! Who did this to you??"

"My father,for sneaking out. It's been there for a few days now." She said in a low voice as Lilly leaned over her stall door and licked Celina's face, letting out a sneeze on the third lick.

"Celina come on, tell me." Jaclyn pleaded.

Celina shook her head, refusing to answer.

"Why won't you tell me? Does you dad know your here?" Jaclyn asked again.

"No, and if I tell he will just hurt me again. Jaclyn, I'm running away for good and I need your help in keeping me ran away. I'm never going back there again."

"Hmmmmm..." Jaclyn wondered as she petted Zillion's soft muzzle. "What if he finds out?"

"He won't. He never will know what happened to me. Please Jackie you have to help me."

Jaclyn thought about it. "Only if you believe this one thing I tell you, Jack is my dad."

"Oh, Jaclyn come on..." Celina started. "We have been over this."

"Celina, it's just a feeling I have and I think it might be true, I'm piecing it together and it's making sense. If only I could get a little more information out of my mother..."

"What do you need to know?" Celina wondered aloud as Jaclyn smiled to herself and got ready for lessons.

Following the play that night, Rose took Jaclyn and Celina to eat and go shopping. "Celina, does you father know you ran away?" Rose asked.

"No, he should realize by now I do not like him." Celina answered.

"I would have done the same thing, Cel." Jaclyn chimed in "If I was in your place." She quickly added.

"I'm not sure how long you will be able to stay with us, Celina."

Jaclyn looked up from the store front window. "What are you talking about? Are you worried that Cal will find you?"

Rose swallowed hard at the thought of Cal finding her before Jack did, knowing it had already happened. She also wondered what that letter was that Jaclyn brought to the barn with her and had a feeling that Jaclyn was going to set something up.

Little did Rose know her intution was right. The next day Jaclyn and Celina found themselves running around the barn looking for Jack. Emmy came out of her office and saw the girls running around "What is going on? This is a stable, not a playground!!"

"Where's Jack?" Celina asked, out of breath.

"He went into town, why?"

"Celina and I need to talk to him, pronto." Jaclyn commanded.

Emmy folded her arms across her chest. "Alright, I will tell him when he returns.."

Jaclyn and Celina nodded agreeingly,and then began to wonder where everyone was. It was quiet for the time of day they were at the barn. "Emmy, one other question. Where is everyone?"

Emmy let out a small cough. "Spanish Flu virus, it's deadly." She continued to cough as she went back to her office, seeming to be getting worse and worse.


	9. Chapter 10

Celina coughed all the way back to the barn from her lesson nonstop.

"Celina, are you alright?" Jaclyn asked Celina as she put her horse away.

"Fine," Celina said in between coughing fits. "Probably just a tickle."

Little did aether one of them know it was more than just a small tickle in Celina's throat.

--------------------------

The next day, Jaclyn wasn't feeling so well and Rose didn't know what was wrong with her. She was running a fever and it wasn't going down at all, even though she made sure Jaclyn was getting all the sleep she needed. When she got up, Rose checked to see if her fever went down. It hadn't.

"Jaclyn, I don't know what to do. Your fever isn't going up or down." Rose said it in a way that Jaclyn knew she was hiding something.

"Emmy said something about the Spanish Flu going around or something."

Rose looked at her funny. "That happened when you were a baby,it wouldn't come back. I'm sure it is just a cold."

Jaclyn got up and went to her desk once her mother had gone back downstairs. She looked out over the New York City skyline, wondering how she ever got this in the first place, knowing it was more than just a common cold.

Cal ran his fingers through his hair and paced nervously in the hospital waiting room, occasionally mumbling to himself. _How could I let this happen? First Annabelle and now Celina!!_

The nurse came out of Celina's room. "Are you Mr. Hockley?" She asked.

"Yes, Is my daughter going to be alright?" Cal sounded genuinely concerned.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Hockley. It is more serious than we first thought."

Cal couldn't believe it. "There must be some mistake--"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hockley, there is no mistake. She has the Spanish Flu and there is nothing that can really be done about this case, it is too far advanced."

Cal sat down and tried to organize his thoughts. _How could I let this happen??_

_------------------------------_

Jaclyn wasn't doing much better aether, now that she had been sick for a few days. It was much harder to keep Jaclyn hydrated and she now had chills along with a fever. When she was feeling a little better, she went downstairs for the first time in weeks. Rose was on the phone in the kitchen and Jaclyn could tell it was not good.

"Mom, what happened?" Jaclyn asked before going into a small coughing fit.

"That was Celina's—err---father."

Jaclyn scrunched the back of her hair in confusedness. "Why would he be calling here?"

"I don't' know how to tell you this but," Rose paused. "Celina died of Spanish Flu."

_Dammit!! Dammit, dammit,dammit!! Just when I was feeling better this happens!!!_ "I'll be in my room, where I've been spending the last week and a half." Jaclyn replied and slugged back to her room, depressed. Now all she wanted to do was die of this,unfortunately she knew that was not an option. _There has to be some way... _She was interrupted by the sound of someone coming in the door and knew it was her mother.

**...A few days later...**

Jaclyn looked into the polished wooden casket with fluffy white interior lining. It had to be the smallest casket she had ever seen, being that Celina was not that tall or big of a girl. She was petite and at times even fragile looking. She looked like a porcelain doll in there,still comfortable in the packaging. Jaclyn was surprised to be here, giving her mother had told her they were not going to go because of Rose's connections to Cal. After the funeral, Jaclyn was talking to her friend, Gisele, Celina's older sister who was ten when she saw Cal with her mother,looking to be asking something of her.

"What's up with your mother and daddy?" Gisele asked with her arms folded across sher chest, looking at them.

Jaclyn looked over to see what Gisele was looking at and her heart began to race. "Uh, I'm not sure." She lied.

"Maybe they got to know each other a little, that's probably all." Gisele suggested. Then she saw Rose began to walk away and Cal grabbing her arm and telling her something. Perplexed, Jaclyn grabbed Gisele's arm and took her over there with her.


	10. Chapter 11

_I just don't understand. Celina is gone and it is all daddies' fault for not getting her better care. If mother was still here I know she would give her own life for Celina, she…_there was a tap at the door that cut Gisele's thought off. It was Cal.

"Gisele…" he paused.

"You don't know where to begin, hmm? How about starting with harassing Jaclyn's mother let's start there."

"That was nothing to your concern." Cal tried to keep his temper from rising.

"Oh I'm sure."

"When I say it is none of you concern, young lady, I expect you to drop the subject!" Cal barked. "Is that in anyway unclear?"

Gisele felt so enraged, she couldn't handle this anymore. **"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!! YOU NEVER LOVED ME NOR CELINA. YOU LET HER DIE AND YOU KNOW IT!!"**

Cal opened his mouth to say something, but then thought about it and slapped Gisele across the cheek. "You are NEVER to speak to me in that tone again." He grabbed her delicate arms tightly. "Clear?"

He didn't even give her a chance to answer. Instead he stormed out of the room, locking the door behind him. Gisele heard the lock click and knew immediately what had happened. She ran over to the door and started banging on it "HELP!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!! LET ME OUT!!!" Unfortunately she knew that was not going to happen. Not long after, she sat behind her door,too tired to do nothing more than tap at the door and softly say, "help, help me,someone. Anyone." _He can't do this to me! He cant!!_

_But he had, he locked me in here like an animal at the zoo. Like I was some common criminal,like,like—runaway._ Gisele sat up,realizing how stiff she was from sitting behind the door all that time. It was not nighttime yet, but late afternoon. The sun was just beginning to set.

"Tonight." She whispered to herself, shaking from the sudden chill "I-I—I'll do it...tonight...after...everyone is asleep." She got up and began to walk to her closet when she heard a small voice.

"What are you doing??" Gisele turned around and backed against the wall suddenly. Standing before her was a short, pale girl in a elegant black dress. It was Celina without a doubt.

"What do you want, Celina?? You know he never loved us. You would have done the same thing."

"True,very true. I saw everything he did to you."

Gisele pulled out some clothes out of her closet and pulled out a suitcase from the top shelf. "Really?"

"Where are you going to go? New York?" Suddenly, Gisele pulled out a small bag and dumped it out onto her bed. Celina's jaw dropped. "How much is that?!?!"

"About $348. Enough to get me to New York where I can get a job and then go to Los Angeles." But when Gisele turned around she found herself just to be talking to the air. Celina was gone now, but Gisele did not have time to worry about that. She had to get ready to sneak out,it wouldn't be long before her plan would be put into action.

------...------...-------...-------...--------...--------...--------...-------

The next morning, Gisele could not believe where she had found herself. In a small motel on the outskirts of Philadelphia. All through the night there had been knocks at the door of drunken men expecting prostitution. It finally calmed down a little and she got some sleep but realized she could not stay here another night. As she cleaned herself up and checked for lice in her straight blond hair and collected her things,leaving no trace of herself behind.

Once she was out of there, she went to the train station and got a ticket to New York City. _I know Jaclyn and Rose will help me,hide me. _Once on the train, she sat in her seat and watched the world go past her. Horses in fields,cows,houses, cars and people. Soon, she fell sound asleep. When she woke up, she was in Penn Station in New York City. It was nighttime and she figured that she would stay in a better hotel than last night, one where drunken men did not come knocking at your door asking if you are available. _Don't they know I am only twelve years old?!?! _

Not knowing where to go next, Gisele just followed everyone else out of the terminal. She had no idea where Rose or Jaclyn lived, but it was now getting later and later. She needed to find a place for the night.


	11. Chapter 12

The next morning, Gisele slept in a little later to ensure she had all her energy for her day ahead. When she finally woke up, she took a shower, got dressed and ate breakfast. Once she was ready to go to the barn where she was sure she would find Jaclyn, she went down and hailed a cab on the street.

……**------……------……------…….-------…….-------……..------**

"I cannot believe this, how could I just let her slip away like that??!" Cal said to himself as he paced his office, occasionally looking up at the portrait of a beautiful straight-blonde haired, green eyed daughter named Gisele. The portrait had been taken 2 years ago when she was ten, but she had not really changed much except for height. Finally Cal sat down, tired of pacing and decided to start searching. _She has to be around her somewhere, it's not the first time she has run away. She rotates between Gabrielle's house and Kelly's house. _He got up and went to go find Lovejoy and see where Gisele decided to hide off this time.

"Lovejoy, I need you to go over to the Callaway's estate and see if Gisele is there. If not, then go over to the Lexington's. If she is not at either one…well then well worry about that when we find out." Lovejoy left without questioning and Cal went back to his office and thought about what he had said to Gisele. _She's not at either estate, I know it. She has run away. And she's not coming back. Now I really have nothing to live for. _He turned around in his chair and looked outside and thought back to when Gisele was born.

"_Cal, Cal wake up!!" Annabelle cried. "It's time!!"_

_Cal woke up immediately. "alright, stay calm. I'll call the doctor." Cal rushed downstairs and sent Sabrina, the overnight maid, upstairs to help with Annabelle._

"_Alright Anne, I need you to breathe and push when I say alright??" Annabelle nodded and started breathing. A few short hours later, Gisele Caroline-Rose Hockley was born._

……-----……------……------……-----…..------…….-------……..------……

"I don't know, Gis. My mom is going out tonight with Jack. I got them together, aren't you proud of me!!" Jaclyn clapped happily.

"I could watch you…" Gisele suggested desperately.

"Well…alright. Does your dad know?"

"No. I ran away last night, we got into a big fight and I said I couldn't take it anymore."

"Really??" Jaclyn sounded surprised as Gisele nodded and restuffed Casino Royale's hay bag. "Wow, I'm trying to get Jack to be my dad and you're running away from yours.."

"Aw, I'm sure things will work out between Rose and Jack. I have a feeling that they will be unable to live without each other. Here, help me with these." Gisele handed Jaclyn a hay bag and told her to fill it with hay and take them out to the horse's stalls.

----….-----……------…..-----……-----……-----……------…..-----……

"She's not at either estate." Lovejoy confirmed as cal ran his fingers through his hair. He was worried sick about her now. A million possibilities had ran through his head all day of where she could be, including death.

"Lovejoy, find her." Cal ordered.

**A/N: I know it doesn't really leave off in a good place, but the next chapter is very crucial in the story between Gisele's and Cal's relationship.**


	12. Note from Me

**sooooo sorry about the long time,no update thing but I just got a new laptop and am still setting it up. Anyways in case you havent already heard, Kate n Leo are gonna do another movie together!! they start filming this summer. 3333! I'll try to get a new chapter out soon**

**Kisses,**

**HunterJumper15**


	13. Chapter 13

"Good boy, Timmy." Gisele praised at the Black Thoroughbred she was exercising for a friend while he was away. "Just a few more jumps now.."

"I don't think so." A deep voice called. _Oh my God, no._

Lovejoy opened the door to the arena and started walking over quickly to the two. Gisele sped Timmy up to a trot, then a canter. Quickly she had to make a decision--jump the fence or flee on foot. Being a risk taker, she decided to jump the fence with Timmy and continued to quickly canter towards the fence. _Come on Timmy, you can do this…_

As if Timmy was reading her mind, he hopped over the fence like it was nothing and cantered into a nearby empty paddock. Gisele hopped off and checked her tack, knowing Lovejoy was going to chase her all over until he had her. She hopped back up on Timmy just as Lovejoy was closing in on them. He was shaking his head and looking at her in a _'I will always win, give up now.' _manner.

Gisele stared at him evilly as she controlled him into a canter and cantered in circles until Lovejoy was near. She then trotted in a small circle before walking. Lovejoy thought he had her now. Then Gisele got a small smile on her face and cantered right towards Lovejoy. He ran and slipped, landing face first in a pile of horse droppings. Gisele giggled and Timmy nodded his head in approval. She then got off and walked Timmy back to the barn. Halfway there, Timmy neighed and kicked something and then spun around as if to flee. Gisele saw that he had kicked--and knocked out Lovejoy. Emmy came running out and covered her mouth with her hand in shock.

------------

Gisele sat in Emmys office, shaking in fear. She came back in and Gisele looked at the desk blindly. "I didn't know he was behind me, Emmy. I'm really sorry--"

"Its not your fault. Timmy is young and isn't bombproof the way the other horses you've ridden are. He was here from your father and your father is here now."

"No! No Emmy, don't make me go with him, you don't understand!! He killed my mother and baby sister!! I could be next!!" Gisele begged Emmy.

"Gisele, Gisele calm down." She said. "He was worried about where you where and why you ran away. I know the whole story and want to know, what persuaded you to run away."

Gisele looked out the window at a bare outdoor arena. "He killed my mother and sister, how would you want to live thinking you could be next?" Gisele shook her head and wiped tears from her eyes. "I've lived long enough like that. I don't want to be with him. If I could put myself up for adoption, it would happen in a heartbeat."

Emmy walked over to Gisele and hugged her. "I would adopt you if I could, but I think you need to talk with your father right now." Emmy walked out of the office and came back with Cal. Cal walked over to Gisele and attempted to hug her, but Gisele just walked out of the office. Emmy went after her and lost her at first, but then found her in Timmy's stall.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Gisele yelled. "You really think I am going to talk to him??"

"Yes and you are going to have to eventually so you might as well do it now." Emmy took her hand and lead her back to the office.

-------------

"Gisele, I did not mean to kill your mother."

"Yes you did." Gisele repiled suddenly as if prepared.

"No I did not. She simply fell."

"LIAR!" Gisele yelled. "ALL YOU EVER DO IS LIE TO ME. WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU EVER?"

"BECAUSE I AM YOUR FATHER AND YOU WILL REPECT ME. Is that clear?"

Gisele gave him a cold stare before slapping him across the face. Cal immediately took her delicate arm and squeezed it tight. "You are NEVER to touch me, understood?"

She wished she could have taken that back. "Yes, I'm sorry." Cal let go of her arm.

"Good. Let's go home."


	14. Chapter 14

Jaclyn bit her fingernail as she sat at her desk, unable to concentrate on her math homework that sat in front of her on her desk. It was half finished, but she was really confused as to what had become of Gisele. A knock at her bedroom door snapped her back to reality.

"Hi Mom, what's up?" Jaclyn smiled at Rose, her huge blue eyes glowing. She probably was just happy to get away from the incomplete math homework.

"Oh nothing, I just got this letter."

"Really from who?" Jaclyn sat backwards in the chair.

"Cal." She said in a low mumble.

Jaclyn got a funny look on her face. _Whose Cal?_

Rose suddenly got up and wiped her eye as if she was crying. "I'll be downstairs; finish your homework." She said quickly. Jaclyn didn't care about her homework now, she was out to find out who this 'Cal' person was and what he wanted with Rose.

-----------------------------------------

Gisele scratched her head. She couldn't figure out why Itoon, a champion hunter horse, wouldn't jump over that damn fence!! Once again, she attempted to have him jump over the double oxer, like she had watched him do so many times. He refused, the same way he had all day. He would stop short then rear up slightly. Gisele sighed and dismounted. "This just isn't your day huh,boy?"

"Nope, it's not just my day" a voice answered behind the fence. Gisele looked under Itoon's neck to see Jaclyn.

"Hey Jackie, long time no talk. Ever hear of writing a letter once in a while??" Gisele smirked.

"Ha-ha, very funny. My mom got a letter from this 'Cal' person and when I went to look at it, it had your last name on it..."

"Yeah, my dad's name is Caledon. It probably was him, but what did he want with your family?? He barely knows them as it is..."

"That's what I'm wondering." Jaclyn climbed through the gaps in the fenceline and helped shorten the stirrup so she could untack easily.

Gisele shortened the other stirrup and loosened the girth before untacking. She held Itoon's reins so he couldn't run off if the tack silding across his back spooked him. He was bombproof, but just as a precaution she held the reins with any horse she handled, while tacking up or untacking. Jaclyn took the tack and put it on the fenceline and they walked Itoon around to cool him down before putting him back in his stall. Neither of them could come to understand where the letter had come from, or why it was written.

"Can't you ask your mom about the letter?" Gisele suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I did, she wouldn't tell me anything but it really upset her, the letter itself."

"Hmmm..." Gisele thought out loud.

"What?"

"I dunno—maybe your dad knows my mom and we don't know about it."

"Like a secret relationship? But Jack is her boyfriend, not your dad!!"

"I know, but maybe in the past they had something. I'll ask him tonight." Gisele turned Itoon around and led him to his paddock. Jaclyn went to get her horse and groom him before her lesson began in a half hour.


End file.
